Before this summer, Nadiya and her family lived on the territory of Ukraine temporarily not controlled by the Ukrainian government. Their 13-year-old son Kyryl was born there.
In May this year, Nadiya’s sister Olga died leaving her two children – 5-year-old Zhenya and 1-year-old Andriy as orphans.
The boys’ father was an alcoholic who had been abusive of Olga and the kids. 5-year-old Zhenya would often run away from home trying to avoid his father. Olga couldn’t change her life, and affected by grave depression, she escaped from her life too. After Olga’s death, the boys’ father rejected his children whom he doesn’t even consider his own. The kids were sent to a hospital where they were waiting for a placement in an orphanage.
Having heard about the tragedy with her sister, Nadiya came to the hospital to visit her nephews. Her only desire was to undertake guardianship over the kids and take them home.
«If I can’t prepare all of the paperwork for guardianship, Zhenya will be sent to an orphanage and little Andriy, most likely, will be adopted by a family and they will be separated. For me, as their aunt, it will be very difficult to accept. They are my blood, how can I leave them without a family, without a mother”, – Nadiya cried in despair.
In order for the Ukrainian government to issue Nadia a permission for an official guardianship, Nadiya was supposed to have a place to live in the territory controlled by Ukraine. She wouldn’t be allowed to take the kids to the occupied territory where her home is. The only option for Nadiya to keep the children was buying a house in Ukraine where she could live with her nephews.
Nadiya didn’t have the money to buy her own hose and she started looking for a long-term rent. However, the landlords wouldn’t want to sign an official lease agreement with her. The deadlines for applying for guardianship were coming to an end. Nadia was heart-broken; «When I take the boys for a walk and bring them back to the hospital where they stay now, it’s always heart-breaking for me to leave them there. Little Andriy knows when I have to leave and starts crying. I ask Zhenya to do something to distract him and I can’t look in his eyes – I am afraid that I might break into tears… It’s very hard for me to leave them there every day”
The time was flying and Nadiya came for help to Emmanuel Association, one of the Orphans’ Promise’ subdivisions helping orphans. This was the Lord’s answer for her situation. Orphans’ Promise’ team found a house in Zhitomyr region costing $15,000 and started a fundraising campaign. All of the Orphans’ Promise’ branches in Ukraine, USA and Europe joined in this fundraising effort. Many people in Ukraine and other country helped Nadiya’s family both financially and in prayer.
The Bible says that “A father to fatherless, a defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling (Psalm 68:5). The Lord has showed His faithfulness for Nadiya and her little nephews Zhenya and Andriy. The finances needed for purchasing a house were raised!
In the end of September, all of the documents were ready. Nadiya became an official guardian for her little nephews and they moved into a new large house which had been purchased thanks to the generosity of many people from all over the world! Nadiya’s husband and her son will join them shortly and Nadiya’s joy will be full. During all this time she was worried about her own family still living in the military conflict zone.
Zhenya and Andriy found a new family which will love them and care for them. The kids have become more open and there is joy in their eyes. Nadiya can’t stop praising God for His mercy and she is full of new hopes and plans. The woman thanks everyone who participated in answering her need and helped her both prayfully and financially. «I’d like to thank Emmanuel Association, Orphan’s Promise, and many caring people from all over the world who have become an answer to our need!”
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